Pumpkin Pie Pops

Seriously, how cute are pie pops?  You may have seen my previous summertime variation here.   Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite fall desserts; sans nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice, I’m strictly a cinnamon girl.  I decided to try the bite sized version on a stick.  I used some Halloween themed Linzer tart cutters for a festive touch.  These were perfect served slightly warm with a nice tall glass of milk.   

Pumpkin Pie Pops

1 pkg refrigerated pie crusts
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
8 Tbsp coconut sugar (you can use regular white sugar)
3 tsp butter, melted
2 tsp beaten egg (crack an egg, beat it, and use 2 tsp–reserve the rest for brushing the pastry)
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cinnamon
Popsicle sticks

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sugar, butter, 2 tsp egg, vanilla and cinnamon until blended.
3. Gently roll out  pie crust. Cut pumpkins using a cookie cutter.

4. Lay down crust shapes on the prepared baking pan. Top with a teaspoon of mixture in the center, then gently press a popsicle stick into the mixture. Top the mixture with second layer of dough. Carefully press the edges of the pies to seal. Crimp using the edge of a popsicle stick.
6. Brush the pops with the remaining egg.
7. Bake for approx. 16-19 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool several minutes before serving.

Macaron of The Month: Fruity Pebbles

I must start off this post with an apology as I totally flaked out on last month’s macaron of the month.  It was a crazy month for my side business, Duchess Delights.  I will make up for it, pinky promise. 

Fruity Pebbles cereal is Christian’s favorite so why not incorporate it into a macaron?  While searching around the internets I came across this recipe.  They basically tasted like Fruity Pebble meringues.  I sandwiched them between my classic vanillabuttercream.  They were super sweet almost a little too sweet.  Whatever you do, do not give these to small children.  I can almost guarantee they will be climbing the walls after just one.  

 

Sticky Toffee Date Cake

 I've really been on a date kick lately as previously seen here.  That being said I couldn't resist making this sticky toffee date cake for Easter.  Sweet, moist date caked infused with a toffee glaze.  If that wasn't enough you must have it served warm and topped with some extra glaze and a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  It was the perfect ending to a lovely meal. 

 

Coconut Nest Cupcakes

This past Sunday we celebrated “PrEaster” since my sisters and niece will be visiting my father in Florida next week.  These coconut nest cupcakes made for the perfect sweet ending to an amazing PrEaster lunch.   I used Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix as a base.  I thought I’d be a little fancy by adding in fresh vanilla bean specks into the mix, but I didn’t have to.  Trader Joe already put them in the mix for me!  Just another reason to love him.  Instead of using cow’s milk as requested by the Trader I used some canned coconut milk.  Now when it comes to frosting you MUST make your own.  This may sound a little intimidating, but it’s totally easy and trust me it makes all the difference in the world.  I cannot remember the last time I bought “frosting” at the store.  Once you make your own you will never turn back.  Can we just talk about the smell of coconut toasting in the oven?  Seriously?  Sooooo yummy!  The finishing touch to the little nests were the Cadbury chocolate eggs.  They almost made these too cute to eat.  Almost.

 
Classic Vanilla Buttercream

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 - 3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand mixer, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 2 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining sugar to reach desired consistency.

Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop, scoop buttercream on tops of cooled cupcakes; sprinkle buttercream with toasted coconut, pressing to adhere. Using your thumb, make a well in the center of each scoop of buttercream; fill with chocolate eggs. Serve.

Macaron of The Month: Strawberries & Cream

As mentioned last month, I began a new feature called, "Macaron of The Month".  This month's flavor is Strawberries & Cream.  So, I've gotten better, but there is still more work to be done.  Here are some things I learned this time around:

- Use almond flour NOT almond meal.  I used almond meal and although they tasted great you could see flecks of the almond skin throughout the macarons

-325 degrees is WAY too hot for these babies.  I tried baking them at 300 and I think that is the perfect temp.  Next time I'll leave them in for longer than 10 minutes.  My feet got stuck to the parchment/silicone mat.

The filling consisted of a vanilla buttercream and diced fresh strawberries.

All in all they tasted great.  Practice makes perfect.  Until next month, my friends!

Mocha Chocolate Ice Box Cake

This mocha chocolate ice box cake was the perfect finale to our incredible Valentine's Day dinner.  It took the traditional ice box cake to another level with the addition of espresso powder, Kahlua, and Mascarpone cheese.  I used a combination of chocolate wafers and Trader Joe's Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies for each layer.  That just wasn't enough so I spread each cookie with a little of Trader Joe's Crunchy Cookie Butter.  This stuff is INSANELY delicious, trust me on that!  Instead of the chocolate shavings the recipe calls for I used some cake stencils and cocoa powder.  For a no bake dessert that will definitely impress your guest this cake is the way to go.

Happy Valentine's Day!

{via}

There is something so generous and satisfying about cooking dinner for someone you love and Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to do so. As seen last year, Chris and I have a tradition of working together to create an amazing surf and turf dinner on V-Day. This year's menu consists of:

 

Rib eyes marinated in the Best Steak Marinade in Existence (seriously it's really called that)

Broiled Lobster Tails

Garlic and Herb Scalloped Potatoes

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Korbel Brut Rose and St. Germain

Mocha Chocolate Ice Box Cake (I’ll share this recipe with you next week)

 I truly love this little tradition of ours.  HapValentine's Day!

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Oatmeal Creme Pies

 

I remember back in the day my mom would pack a Little Debbie's snack in my lunch box.  Some of my favorites were the Zebra cakes, Nutty Bars, and of course the Oatmeal Creme Pies.    The Raisin Creme Pies were my least fave, but they ended up in there from time to time.  This recipe brought back some serious grade school nostalgia, a homemade oatmeal cookie (better than the original, sorry Lil Deb) sandwiched between some store bought marshmallow fluff.  I added a little Valentine's flair with some white, pink, and red sprinkles.  My first bite made me feel like it was snack time at Daniel Webster School circa 1987.  It's kind of crazy how food can take you back to a certain time and place.  It can invoke all of these feelings and help you remember things a little more clearly.   I think that is definitely one of the things that I really love about cooking and baking. 

 

Farfalle with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

Sausage and peppers kind of go together like peanut butter and jelly.  I find that roasting peppers right on the stove top makes such a difference rather than using the jarred variety.  This hearty pasta dish is simple to make and is perfect for a crowd.  Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

• 3 medium bell peppers, I used red, orange, and yellow
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 pound farfalle
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup of pasta water (don’t forget)
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

1.     Place peppers on direct flame of the stove top, rotate to ensure even charring.  Once barely recognizable (this will take about 15 to 20 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; steam 2 to 3 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off pepper skins, reserving any juices in bowl. Thinly slice peppers crosswise into 1/4-inch strips; return to bowl. Set aside.

2.     In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

3.     In a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.  Add sliced red onion to the skillet.  Sautee for about 5 -8 minutes until caramelized.  Add roasted peppers; cook until heated through.  Add sausage back in.

4.     Transfer onions and peppers to bowl with sausage ; add pasta, butter, reserved pasta water, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Macaron of The Month: Tiramisu

I decided to finally give macaron making a try.  I have been kind of intimidated by all the stories of how hard and time consuming they are to make.  This weekend I bit the bullet and went for it. 

For those of you that are not familiar with the macaron they are a meringue based cookie (not really a cookie, but I have no other way to describe them) made with ground almonds and filled usually with buttercream, ganache, or even jam. 

Um, so yeah, these where kind of temperamental and time consuming.  They most certainly did not resemble the perfect macarons found at Ladurée.  Those are just out of this world delicious and beautiful (and cost a small fortune, BTW).  Mine came out looking more like tiny whoopie pies with cracks in some of them.  These tiramisu macarons were delicious, though.  Delicate outside shell with a tender inside infused with espresso flavor and filled with a mascarpone cream.  My husband and I may or may not have eaten the whole batch for dinner.  Maybe.  Don't judge us.

I definitely learned not to try and be cute by grounding my own almonds.  Next batch I will be buying almond flour.  Anyway, I decided that I will not claim defeat!  Instead I will make one new flavor each month for the next 12 months.  My hope is that I will get better with time and they will start to resemble those fancy, shmancy macarons at Ladurée (at least a little, a girl can dream can't she?).  Let's see how this goes...

 

Well Hello There, 2013!

 

{Chris and I freezing our butts off while waiting in line for The Event of a Thread}

Happy New Year, guys!  Here’s to positive changes, prosperity, health, wealth, and all the best during 2013. 

 {had delicious Mofongo con Bistec at the Coconut Latin Caribbean Grill}

 {made Momofuku's AMAZING Compost Cookies for New Year's Eve}

 {we passed along mini bottles of Verdi right before the ball dropped}

 {Jada had a little power nap before midnight}

{Happy 2013!}